At a Liberal Democratic Party meeting on Aug. 4, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare presented a draft outline of new guidelines that provide a vision for the pharmaceutical industry. Reflecting on Japan’s delay in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, the government mentions in the draft guidelines that it will consider support for new drug development and creating a system for government purchasing from the perspective of economic security. The government will compile the guidelines by the end of August. (Abridged)